Compiled, Translated and Annotated

Abū Ḥibbān & Abū Khuzaimah Anṣārī

The dar ur tahqiq website have published a few articles on the proficiency of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah in Ḥadīth, sure they have the prerogative as they are his ardent, muʿtassub and bigoted blind followers. This is a brief response to it.

As the readers knows, we are currently publishing Shaikh Irshad ul-Ḥaqq al-Athari’s book ‘Asbāb Ikhtilāf al-Fuqahā’ which is an answer to Shaikh Muḥammad Awwamahs ‘Athar al-Ḥadīth Sharīf.’ Whilst translating this many years ago, at the time we added some detailed notes to the proceeding narration which is what you will be reading insha’Allāh.

Therefore, this narration will be uploaded again without the notes in the series of the book.

Shaikh Irshād ul-Ḥaqq al-Atharī said,

Imām Abū Ḥanīfah’s own statement has been transmitted from him by his student, Imām Abū ʿAbdur Rahmān ʿAbdullāh bin Yazīd Muqrī who said,

[Khaṭīb Baghdādī transmitted this statement with the following chain, “I was informed by Ibn al-Faḍal who was informed by Daʿlaj bin Aḥmad who was informed by Aḥmad bin ʿAlī al-Ābār and it was narrated to them by Maḥmūd bin Ghīlān and Ibn Muqrī narrated to them saying he heard Abū Ḥanīfah say….”

Dʿalaj bin Aḥmad is a well known trustworthy scholar of Ḥadīth and a jurist. Imām Ḥākim said he was an Imām of the Ahlul Ḥadīth of his time. [Sīyar [16:30][7], Tārīkh Baghdād [8:387][8], Tadhkirah ul-Ḥuffāẓ [3:881][9]

Ibn al-Faḍal is Muḥammad bin al-Ḥussain bin Muḥammad bin al-Faḍal al-Baghdādī al-Qaṭṭān. He is a well known teacher of Imām Baihaqī and Imām Khaṭīb Baghdādī. Imām Dhahabī said that he was trustworthy with agreement. [Siyār [17:331],[10] Tārīkh Baghdād [2:246][11] others.

Thus, the narrators of this chain are all trustworthy; however, Ibn al-Muqrī hearing from Imām Abū Ḥanīfah is debatable. Imām Ibn ʿAdiyy has transmitted the same statement from ʿAbdullāh bin ʿAbdul ʿAzīz via the chain of Maḥmūd bin Ghīlān from al-Muqrī. In fact Imām Tirmidhī has also transmitted it from Maḥmūd bin Ghīlān and said he heard it from al-Muqrī [al-ʿEllal al-Kabīr [2:966].

What this means is that Maḥmūd bin Ghīlān did not narrate from Ibn al-Muqrī but rather from his father whose name is ʿAbdullāh bin Yazīd al-Muqrī. As for ʿAbdullāh bin Yazīd he is the famous Muhaddith, Imām Bukhārī’s teacher as well as a trustworthy Imām. [Tahdhīb [6:83][12], Sīyar [10:166][13]

Imām Ibn ʿAdiyy also transmitted the same statement via Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin Saʿīd from Muḥammad bin ʿAbdullāh bin Suleimān from Salamah bin Shabīb from al-Muqrī-and this chain is also Ḥasan. Salamah bin Shabīb al-Nīsābūrī is trustworthy [Tahdhīb [4:146][14] and others. Also note Al-Kāmil mentions Maslamatah which is incorrect and needs to be corrected.

Muḥammad bin ʿAbdullāh bin Suleimān is the famous trustworthy scholar of Ḥadīth from Kūfa. [Sīyar [14:41] and others. Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin Saʿīd is Ibn ʿUqadah who is a famous Hāfiẓ of Ḥadīth however, some have spoken against him whereas others declared him to be trustworthy. [Sīyar [15:340], Tārīkh Baghdād [5:14], Līsān [1:263][15] and others.

However he is not alone in this narration, nonetheless this narration is authentically established from Imām al-Muqrī and Allah knows best.)

[13] Dhahabi praises him with the following titles, al-Imām, al-ʿAlim, al-Ḥāfiẓ, al-Muḥaddith, al-Ḥujjah and Shaikh of the Ḥaram. Nasāʿī said he was Thiqah, and he was from the major scholars of Bukhārī. Ibn Mubārak said he was pure gold. Abū Ḥātim said he was truthful. Khalīlī said he narrates his ḥadīth from trustworthy narrators are evidence and unique and his son, Muḥammad is trustworthy. [Sīyar [10:166-169 no.29], Kitāb Tadhkirrah al-Ḥuffāz [1:269 no.361], al-Jarḥ [5:210 no.939]. Ibn Ḥibbān cites him in at-Thiqāt [8:432]. Bukhārī has entries for him in his Tārīkh al-Kabīr [5:228] and Tārīkh as-Ṣaghīr [2:326]. Ibn Ḥajr said learned, trustworthy and from the major teachers of Bukhari. [Taqrīb at-Tahdhīb [pp.272 no.3715], see also al-Kāshif [2:144 no.3100], al-ʿAqd al-Thamīn [5:299], Wafī al-Wafyāt [17:678], Ṭabaqāt ibn Saʿd [5:367], Tārīkh Ibn Maʿīn [no.338], Tārīkh Khalīfah [no.474], Ṭabaqāt Khalīfah [no.227], Tadhhīb at-Tahdhīb [2:196], al-ʿIbar [1:364], Ṭabaqāt al-Huffāẓ [pp.160 no.432], Shadhrāt adh-Dhahab [2:29], Tahdhīb al-Kamāl [no.757], Khulaṣah Tahdhīb-Kamāl [2:113],

[14] Tahdhīb at-Tahdhīb [4:132 no.2587]. Ibn Ḥajr mentions, Abū Ḥātim said truthful, Ṣāleh bin Muḥammad al-Baghdadī said truthful. Nasāʿī said we learnt his fine. Aḥmad bin Sīyār said a person of the Sunnah who would travel for Ḥadīth. Abū Nuʿaym al-Aṣbahānī said he was from amongst the trustworthy ones and a group of Imāms narrate from him. Ibn Ḥibbān entered him in his at-Thiqāt. Ḥākim said he was the Muhaddith of Makkah, firm and people agreed on his truthfulness. Ibn Ḥajr said trustworthy in Taqrīb at-Tahdhīb [pp.187 no.2494]. See also al-Kamāl [11:284 no.2455], Tārīkh al-Kabīr [4:85 no.2054] al-Jarḥ [4:164 no.722] and al-Kāshif [no.2054]